--- title: "Sam Altman Says He Feels Sorry for Elon Musk and His Bottomless Insecurity" description: "During a Bloomberg interview, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took another jab at the richest man in the world, Elon Musk." date: "2025-02-11" modified: "2025-02-11" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/sam-altman-elon-musk-insecurity" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "artificial intelligence" - "elon musk" - "OpenAI" - "sam altman" - "xai" --- # Sam Altman Says He Feels Sorry for Elon Musk and His Bottomless Insecurity ![During a Bloomberg interview, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took another jab at the richest man in the world, Elon Musk.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* On Monday, the [*Wall Street Journal* reported]() that multi-hyphenate billionaire Elon Musk [was leading a massive $97.4 billion bid]() to take over the nonprofit that controls ChatGPT maker OpenAI. It didn't take long for OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who runs the company's for-profit arm and [sits on the board of its non-profit as well](), to slap down the offer. "No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want," Altman [wrote]() in a scathing rebuke shortly after the WSJ published its story, referencing Musk's [disastrous acquisition]() of the social media platform, which has since [lost almost 80 percent]() of what it was worth when he bought it. The battle of the outsized egos, which has been many years in the making, didn't end there. During a [*Bloomberg* interview]() at the Paris AI Action Summit today, Altman took another jab at the richest man in the world. "Elon tries all sorts of things for a long time," he said. "This is the latest — you know, this week’s episode." "Probably his whole life is from a position of insecurity," Altman added. "I feel for the guy. I don't think he's like a happy person. I do feel for him." https://youtu.be/-3vSkHAHIs4 The beef between the two CEOs dates back many years. In 2019, roughly four years after the pair co-founded OpenAI, Musk [rage quit]() the nonprofit, citing disagreements with the group's direction. Since then, Musk has [filed several lawsuits]() against the ChatGPT maker, claiming that it had lost track of its "open-source" roots, and instead becoming beholden to corporate incentives and multibillion-dollar deals. That's despite having founded his own AI company, dubbed xAI, a for-profit entity that has [raised billions of dollars](), much like OpenAI. Emails leaked by OpenAI [have also shown]() that Musk believed early on that OpenAI should be turned into a for-profit. In terms of valuation, Musk's AI company has historically lagged behind OpenAI. In December, xAI [raised $6 billion at a valuation of $50 billion](), [less than a third]() of what OpenAI was valued at the time. That's not to mention OpenAI's [current attempt to raise another $40 billion]() to effectively double its valuation in less than half a year, to an astronomical $340 billion. Technologically, xAI has also lagged, with an "anti-woke" chatbot that [often shares progressive political opinions]() instead. Put simply, there are plenty of reasons to suggest that Musk has been raging against his number one competitor in the AI space out of "insecurity." As [*Reuters* pointed out](), it could also be a "textbook" example of "founder's syndrome," a situation when one or more founders maintain huge amounts of influence, which eventually leads to a litany of problems. "I wish he would just compete by building a better product, but I think there’s been a lot of tactics," Altman told *Bloomberg* today. "Many, many lawsuits, all sorts of other crazy stuff, now this. And we’ll try to just put our head down and keep working." In some ways, Musk has taken on the qualities of people he once mocked. The billionaire once took it out one of his favorite punching bags, Amazon founder and Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos, [accusing him in 2021]() of retiring "in order to pursue a full-time job filing lawsuits against SpaceX." Given the many complaints he has filed against OpenAI, Musk has seemingly taken on that position himself. Nobody knows how OpenAI's non-profit board will view Musk's [extremely overvalued offer](). But bearing in mind Altman's notable influence over the board — which [changed significantly]() after he was [booted]() and [reinstated]() as the CEO in late 2023 — it's unlikely to be taken all too seriously. Apart from [calling Altman a "swindler]()" for not taking him up on his unusual offer, Musk has yet to respond to Altman's latest attack. However, Musk is unlikely to roll over and leave it at that, so expect more drama as the richest man in the world pursues the opportunity he walked away from over five years ago. **More on the beef:** *[Elon Musk Makes Huge Bid to Seize Control of OpenAI]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()